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@mollyhespra wrote:I, personally won't use PVC in my garden, anywhere. It off-gasses forever & can leach dioxins. Just google it and you'll find a bunch of articles on it. Here's just one.

CC, how do you find bamboo to use as hoops? And it's bendable?

At our Job Lot they sell bamboo stakes in a couple different lengths in the garden section starting very soon. A couple years ago they happened to have hooped bamboo, too. I don't know if they still get those as I haven't been looking for them, but I always pick up a pack of the stakes.

And yes, you can bend bamboo. I googled it last year in case these current hoops ever die on me, but I forgot how ya do it. I think it has to do with soaking them in water or heating them or either.

I'm also growing bamboo in hopes to not buy anymore, but they aren't being invasive like they are supposed to be and I only have 2 three foot ones growing after 2 years

NHG, I'm using hula hoops along with the bamboo this year, as I need more hoops for more beds. QB and I got the $1 ones from the $1 stores. I just found this article on what they are made of:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hula_hoop"Many modern hoopers make their own hoops out of polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, high-density polypropylene, or polypropylene tubing. The polyethylene hoops, and especially the polyvinyl chloride hoops, are much larger and heavier than hoops of the 1950s. The size and the weight of the hoop affects style of the hooper. Heavier, larger hoops are more often used for slow hooping and body tricks while lighter, thinner tubing is used for quick hand tricks."

So it appears that the heavier hula hoops, lmaybe like the ones QB saw at Walmart, are PVC, but the cheapo deepo ones from $1 store are probably polypropylene, whatever that is. Now I have to go look it up.

I actually know something! Husk cherries and tomatillos are not the same thing. I have received both from my CSA. Both have that papery covering so they probably are in the same family or whatever one calls it scientifically, though.

@camprn wrote:Molly, what is it that you want to use the hoops for? Extending the season, trellis, row cover?

Extending the season, mostly. I have some lightweight row covers that I can just drape on top of my little plantlings to keep the chill off them this Spring, but I really want to experiment with extending the season, so I'd need something a bit taller for that. Coleman suggests two layers, IIRC: one close to the plants & one like a hoop/greenhouse. I'd like to give it a go if I can this Fall.

Nope I plant peas directly into the garden. I do pre-sprout them and plant LOTS in the anticipation of a percentage of them failing before maturity. The compost rich3rd year Mel's Mix supported such intensive planting very well.

Sowing peas first week of April 2012

Peas in the back of the bed beginning of June 2012/ Shallots and radish in front.

Iceland was AMAZING. Gale force winds and a blizzard closed the road to the glacier so no hike into the ice caves. BUt we had a great time driving where we could!

There's something about Iceland I really like. Those photos are beautiful!

camprn, your sprouted peas look amazing - great idea. However, I'm hoping to extend the season even more by indoor seeding, so we'll see how that goes. I really should keep data on all this.

Molly, I hear you about season extension - that's my main goal also. I saw window panes at the dump yesterday and almost picked them up, but they had peeling paint and I thought - what if it's lead based paint, I wouldn't want that anywhere near my soil. So hmm.

Someone (not SFG) mentioned last week that they felt it took 3 yrs. for a raised bed to really get its act together in terms of soil. This will be my 3rd year, so we'll see.

@NHGardener wrote:camprn, your sprouted peas look amazing - great idea. However, I'm hoping to extend the season even more by indoor seeding, so we'll see how that goes. I really should keep data on all this.

You may not really get any advantage with transplanting peas for a few reasons, 1) you need a lot of plants if you plan on having more peas than a few meals worth. 2)Transplant shock will set your plant growth back.3) Pea plants don't really do well in the warmth of the house for very long.

PLease do keep notes and let us know your findings of indoor sown and direct sown. I am very curious.

I received Willi Galloway's Grow Cook Eat for Christmas. It's a beautiful gardening and cooking book with photos by Jim Henkens. I was looking at it today and Wiili agrees with both camprn and NHGardener on the cultivation of peas. if direct sowing, peas should be pregerminated, which saves a week to first harvest. But peas can also be grown as seedlings, which saves 3-4 weeks over direct sown seeds. Peas do best if planted in soil at least 50*F. I visited the garden today and took along an instant reading thermometer. Soil temps several inches down were 40*F and then the probe hit frozen soil it couldn't penetrate. Temps next week are supposed to be highs in the thirties and lows in the twenties, with possible snow on Tuesday. I probably won't be planting peas next weekend.

Your weather is sounding similar to ours here on the front range of Colorado. I got about 4 inches of snow last week. A day or two later it was mid 70's.And what ever happened to getting snow in Nov-Feb? Is this just not possible

I eat so many weird things this past year after reading here that you can - like broccoli and kohlrabi leaves. I wonder what we can't eat? Like I wouldn't eat tomato or squash leaves...

CC

or RHUBARB. Never eat rhubarb leaves.

A brief excerpt from http://www.rhubarbinfo.com/poison:

"During World War I rhubarb leaves were recommended as a substitute for other veggies that the war made unavailable. Apparently there were cases of acute poisoning and even some deaths. Some animals, including goats and swine, have also been poisoned by ingesting the leaves."

You also don't want to eat raw red kidney beans due to toxicity. Read why in this article: http://www.livestrong.com/article/409651-danger-of-raw-red-kidney-beans/

Quite a few human foods are toxic to pets, though, including onions. I'd keep kitty away from those clippings, donnainzone10.